CCDD 01312018 - Junkyard Engineer and Plague Doctor

I was 100% positive that Junkyard Engineer was a buildaround uncommon. It had all the hallmarks of one - it was gold, it was good under limited circumstances. I was positive that I got that one right. Then I mocked it up.

The Day of the Murderous Cut

First of all, congratulations to all of the Artisans who made it to round 3. The sheer number of people who made it through says a lot about the quality of our community and about the things we've accomplished since GDS2. I'm so proud and excited for Jay, and Havelock, and for KingRitz, Carl, Jim, lpaulsen, Ryan, Josh and Diane, as well as any others I might have missed. I like the odds of a strong Artisan representation in the top 8, and wouldn't be surprised if at least a few don't end up in Renton by the end of the show.

GDS3: Trial 2 Congratulations and/or Condolences Open Thread

E-mails come out today! Here is your open thread for congratulating fellow Artisans who made it past Trial 2, and commiserating with those who didn't.

Although the Artisans are (in our unbiased opinion) the best amateur design community out there, we know not all of us are going to get the Golden Ticket today. Some of us might be extremely disappointed or upset that they're not advancing. We just wanted to let you know: we're here with you. Yes, it sucks to be cut. One test is not a true reflection of your knowledge, skills, or potential. Your Artisans in Residence have also had the experience of being eliminated.

I was cut in the Multiple Choice test of GDS2. It stung a lot. I felt like I hadn't been given the opportunity to demonstrate my understanding of design. That's why my fellow contributors and finalists started this blog.

I made it through the gauntlet of the GDS2 multiple choice quiz, and to this day I wonder whether I was cut as the 9th best submission or the 101st (in retrospect it was definitely closer to the latter). It was hard at the time, but forced me to think a lot more critically about my approach to design, and eventually led me to GA, where I've learned more about magic design over the last several years than I ever thought there was to know.

The Multiple Choice test got me in GDS1, and I was the first finalist eliminated in GDS2, so I know well the sting of defeat. I've been anxious all weekend about this cut. Whatever happens, I will keep making games and challenging myself to grow.

Mad props to those who made it through, and for those who didn't, we are still your fans!

CCDD 012918—Fatetouch

Cool Card Design of the Day
1/29/2018 - It's been almost two months since I've shared a card design with you as we've been prepping for the initial trials of GDS3. Today I want to share with you a mechanic that I had been really excited about until I realized a killer problem with it. Let me build it up before I tear it down.

GDS3: Trial 2 Open Thread

The multiple choice test is over! How did it go for you? What questions did you find most difficult? How are you feeling about your performance?

Because of how Blogger organizes threads, I suggest we start a different comment thread for each multiple choice question under discussion so that they stay separate. I.e., post "I had a lot of trouble with #98," and "Did anyone else get 'Dank Siege Rhino Memes' for #86?" as separate comments. And if somebody's already started talking about #98, reply to their comment instead of starting a new thread.

GDS3 — Jay's Trial 2 Answers 1-25

I took copious notes during the test so that I could review them here with you. Additions in italics.

To discuss your own or others' responses to the GDS3 Multiple Choice Quiz, visit the GDS3 Trial 2 Open Thread and look for the thread relating to the question at hand.

Click through to see my first 25 answers and my rationale. 26-50. 51-75

GDS3 — Jay's Trial 2 Answers 26-50

I took copious notes during the test so that I could review them here with you. Additions in italics.

To discuss your own or others' responses to the GDS3 Multiple Choice Quiz, visit the GDS3 Trial 2 Open Thread and look for the thread relating to the question at hand.

Click through to see my second 25 answers and rationale. 1-25. 51-75

GDS3 — Jay's Trial 2 Answers 51-75

I took copious notes during the test so that I could review them here with you. Additions in italics.

To discuss your own or others' responses to the GDS3 Multiple Choice Quiz, visit the GDS3 Trial 2 Open Thread and look for the thread relating to the question at hand.

Click through to see my last 25 answers and rationale. 1-25. 26-50.

GDS3: Good luck on Trial 2!

... not that you'll need any luck, with all the excellent preparation work you've been doing. I can't wait to see how many of us make it to Trial 3!

We've been asked not to discuss any questions until noon PST on Saturday, so that's when the discussion thread will go up. In the meantime, of course, please refrain from posting anything even vaguely spoiler-ish.

In the meantime, get a good night's sleep. Best wishes from all of us at Goblin Artisans. Thank you for being such an awesome, thoughtful, and creative community.

Multiple Choice Magic Design Questions of the Day 33 & 34

33) What causes complexity creep?
 a) new mechanics
 b) balance
 c) resonance / flavor
 d) variety
 e) clarity
 f) set needs / factions
 g) variance

34) What increases complexity?
 a) new mechanics
 b) balance
 c) resonance / flavor
 d) variety
 e) clarity
 f) set needs / factions
 g) variance

Click through to see the answer and my rationale.

Multiple Choice Magic Design Question of the Day 32

32) Which of the following is an experienced designer most likely to discover through playtesting rather than before?
 a) That the timing on an effect makes it nearly useless.
 b) That a creature's power and/or toughness are too high.
 c) That a spell's mana cost is too low.
 d) That a card is confusing.
 e) That a mechanic isn't fun.

Click through to see the answer and my rationale.

Multiple Choice Magic Design Questions of the Day 28-31

28) Which source/form of complexity is the most problematic for new players?
 a) Comprehension Complexity
 b) Board Complexity
 c) Strategic Complexity
 d) Format Complexity
 e) Rules Complexity

29) Which source/form of complexity is the most compelling for established players?
 a) Comprehension Complexity
 b) Board Complexity
 c) Strategic Complexity
 d) Format Complexity
 e) Rules Complexity

30) What is the biggest benefit of complexity in games?
 a) Intricate interactions are a satisfying intellectual challenge for players.
 b) Rules that are hard to understand mean only dedicated players play.
 c) The smartest players get an advantage by finding the most obscure interactions.
 d) Having to focus so much on a game helps you forget IRL problems.
 e) It's fun to mess with crunchy systems and see what happens.

31) What is the biggest downside to complexity in games?
 a) Complexity makes playing your game feel like work.
 b) All the processing is exhausting, limiting how long you can play well.
 c) Complexity means wordiness, which means you're reading more than playing.
 d) Complexity grants an unfair advantage to smarter/entrenched/serious players.
 e) Complex games are intimidating, and so less approachable.

Click through to see the answer and my rationale.

GDS3: Trial 1 Open Thread

The essay portion is done! How did it go for you? What did you think of the questions? How do you feel about your essays? (Maro has confirmed that it's okay to discuss answers after the deadline.)

Weekend Design Challenge 011918—Half-Test of Endurance

Click through to see the requirements for your design test, due Monday morning. Every submission warrants feedback, which you may use to revise your submission any number of times. I will aim to review the most recent submission from each designer.

Multiple Choice Magic Design Question of the Day 27

27) How many of the following phrases work in the rules?

Target creature with flying
Target creature with monstrosity
Target creature with hexproof
Cards with a Gruul watermark
Cards with power 4 or greater
Cards with scry
Lands with activated abilities
Snow permanents
Common cards
Cards from Khans of Tarkir
Cards with a Khans of Tarkir rarity symbol
Cards illustrated by Wayne Reynolds 
Cards put into a graveyard from the battlefield this turn
Creature cards exiled last turn

 a) 4
 b) 7
 c) 10
 d) 11
 e) 14

Click through to see the answer and my rationale.

Multiple Choice Magic Design Question of the Day 26

26) Which of these mana costs is least appropriate for a sorcery with following effect:
Target creature gets +4/+4 until end of turn. It deals damage equal to its power to target creature an opponent controls.
 a) {1}{G}{G}
 b) {5}{R}
 c) {4}{G}
 d) {2}{W}{R}
 e) {4}{RG}

Click through to see the answer and my rationale.

Multiple Choice Magic Design Question of the Day 25

25) Which of these abilities is least appropriate for a Wandering Ones variant?
 a) Ascend. As long as you have the city's blessing, CARDNAME gets +3/+3 and has flying.
 b) When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, reveal any number of land cards from your hand. Put that many +1/+1 counters on ~.
 c) Kicker {3}. When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, if it was kicked, draw two cards.
 d) Play with the top card of your library revealed. You may play the top card of your library.
 e) T: Untap target land.

Click through to see the answer and my rationale.

GDS3 Prep: Final Words of Essay Advice

Tomorrow's when the first trial of GDS3 drops! Here are a few non-Magic-specific words of advice from me on writing good job application essays.

Sell yourself. There will be any conceivable "correct" answers to the given essay prompts, and which one you come up with is not that important. What matters is more is how you react to the question: can you think critically about game design? Can you defend an opinion with evidence? Can you stick to a coherent thesis? Can you evaluate strengths and weaknesses within your own position? If you can consistently come across as a competent and insightful thinker, it won't matter if your essays aren't the textbook answers R&D expects.

Proofread. Your first draft may contain tangents, misstatements, or straight up errors in spelling or grammar. Clean, polished prose is one of the easiest ways to communicate professionalism and care for detail. Once you've edited each individual essay, consider them as a whole- do they combine to paint a good picture of you as a designer? Or are there unintended omissions or overlaps?

Show them your humanity. They're looking for a coworker, not an emotionless designbot- a human person whom they'll have to deal with on a daily basis. Let your personality shine through in your writing via humor, passion, and candor. Avoid anything that could give the impression of pretension, arrogance, obsequiousness, or general dickishness.

Stick to the word limits.

Good luck, friends! I'll see you all at the multiple-choice test.

GDS3 Prep: Essay Question 5

5. Describe an experience that gave you some insight into what players get out of the game of Magic. Explain what you learned and its implications for Design.

Weekend Design Challenge 011218—color shift

Click through to see the requirements for your design test, due Monday morning. Every submission warrants feedback, which you may use to revise your submission any number of times. I will aim to review the most recent submission from each designer.

Multiple Choice Magic Design Question of the Day 19-24

19) Which of these abilities/templates is best for the most audiences?  a) Whenever you put a -1/-1 counter on a creature, create a 1/1 black Insect creature token.
 b) Whenever you put one or more -1/-1 counters on a creature, create that many 1/1 black Insect creature tokens.

 20) Which of these abilities/templates is best for the most audiences?
 a) As long as CARDNAME is attacking, it gets +2/+0.
 b) At the beginning of combat on your turn, CARDNAME gets +2/+0 until end of turn.

 21) Which of these abilities/templates is best for the most audiences?
 a) Whenever CARDNAME or another creature dies, target player loses 1 life and you gain 1 life.
 b) Whenever CARDNAME or another creature you control dies, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life.

 22) Which of these abilities/templates is best for the most audiences?
 a) Whenever another creature enters the battlefield, you gain 1 life.
 b) Whenever another creature enters the battlefield, you may gain 1 life.

 23) Which of these abilities/templates is best for the most audiences?
 a) At the beginning of combat on your turn, target creature gets +2/+0 until end of turn.
 b) At the beginning of combat on your turn, you may have target creature get +2/+0 until end of turn.

 24) Which of these abilities/templates is best for the most audiences?
 a) This creature gets +1/+1 as long as it's attacking or blocking.
 b) This creature gets +1/+1 as long as it's blocked or blocking.
 c) This creature gets +1/+1 as long as it has blocked or been blocked this turn.
 d) Whenever this creature blocks or becomes blocked, it gets +1/+1 until end of turn.

Click through to see the answer and my rationale.

Dreams

Let's get personal.

My dream job for the last 25 years has been: Magic Designer.

GDS3 Prep: Essay Question 4

Today's essay question comes from Jay:

4. What existing Magic mechanic would you promote to evergreen status?

Multiple Choice Magic Design Question of the Day 16, 17, & 18

16) Which of these effects is least suited to be an upkeep trigger?
At the beginning of your upkeep…
 a) …gain 4 life.
 b) …discard a card.
 c) …this creature gets +3/+3 until end of turn.
 d) …win the game.
 e) …untap this creature.

17) Which of these effects is least suited to be a saboteur trigger?Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player…
 a) …that player gains 4 life.
 b) …discard a card.
 c) …it gets +3/+3 until end of turn.
 d) …win the game.
 e) …gain control of target blocking creature.

18) Which of these effects is least suited to be a end step trigger?At the beginning of your end step…
 a) …if you lost life this turn, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.
 b) …discard a card.
 c) …create a 1/1 white Soldier creature token.
 d) …win the game.
 e) …untap this creature.

Click through to see the answer and my rationale.

GDS3 Prep: Essay Question 3

3. R&D follows many rules for what kind of cards may be printed. However, these rules can be violated if the set calls for it. For example, Yoked Plowbeast broke the size limit on common white creatures because of the theme of Naya. Give an example of another set in which R&D should have broken a particular rule, and explain why.

GDS3 Prep: Essay Question 2

2. Choose a mechanic from a Modern-legal set that was not well designed. What could have made it better? (You may propose changes either to the mechanic itself or to its implementation.)

Weekend Design Challenge 010518—Cycling It Out

Click through to see the requirements for your design test, due Monday morning. Every submission warrants feedback, which you may use to revise your submission any number of times. I will aim to review the most recent submission from each designer.

GDS3 Prep: Essay Question 1

The first stage of the Great Designer Search 3 will be an essay test: "Contestants will have one week to answer ten essay questions. Answers must be no less than 250 words and no more than 300 words in length."

Now, it'll be pretty hard to get eliminated at this stage, because they won't actually read the essays until after the multiple choice test has eliminated most of the contestants. However, the essays will definitely play an important role in selecting the finalists, so we should be prepared to put our best ideas forward!

For reference, here are the essay questions from GDS1 and GDS2. (Note that the maximum word count was 350 then.)

Here's your first sample essay question.

1. In the past few years, we've stopped using some mechanics such as Regenerate and Protection. In the future, what would you remove from Magic: the Gathering, and why?

Multiple Choice Magic Design Question of the Day 13, 14, & 15

13) What color would Holy Light be if remade today? Assume we can change "non-white" to another color exclusion.
 a) white
 b) blue
 c) black
 d) red
 e) green
 f) more than one of the above

14) Which rarity would Holy Light be if remade today?
 a) common
 b) uncommon
 c) rare
 d) mythic rare

15) Which of these changes would be most appropriate if Holy Light were remade today?
 a) Make it a sorcery.
 b) Increase its effect to -2/-2.
 c) Remove the "non-[color]" restriction.
 d) Limit its effect to creatures you don't control.
 e) Increase its colored mana requirement (from 2M to 1MM, for instance).

Click through to see the answer and my rationale.

Multiple Choice Magic Design Question of the Day 12

12) Which of the these is the most important reason to stop making cards with islandwalk?

 a) Blue decks have the weakest creatures.
 b) Landwalk isn't very interactive.
 c) Blue has the fewest answers to evasive creatures.
 d) It's too easy to give your opponents islands.
 e) We don't want to punish people for playing basic lands.
 f) The quality of your deck shouldn't depend so heavily on the nature of your opponent's deck.

Click through to see the answer and my rationale.

Multiple Choice Magic Design Question of the Day 10 & 11

10) Which of the following cards would raise the most red flags in a set file at common.

 a) Bog Hoodlums
 b) Amoeboid Changeling
 c) Oblivion Ring
 d) Spellstutter Sprite
 e) Consuming Bonfire
 f) Broken Ambitions

11) Which of the above cards would raise the fewest red flags in a set file at common.

Click through to see the answer and my rationale.